Sámi
The Sámi are an ethnic group native to the Sápmi, an area formerly known as Lapland which covers northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and parts of Russia.
Their languages form the Sámi Languages, part of the Uralic language family. Most Sámi languages are considered highly endangered, due to historic forced integration policies, such as Sámi children being forced to attend Christian missionary schools, where they were taught only the national official language. In 2011, Norway was criticised by the U.N. Commission for Human Rights for discrimination against Sámi speakers, and the Finnish government has repeatedly refused to fund Sámi pre-school education, even though pre-school native language education is guarenteed to all Finnish children.
The Sámi are famous for their reindeer herding. Currently around 10% of all Sámi work as reindeer herding, and in some regions reindeer herders must be members of the Sámi people. They are also known for their scrimshaw art and tools, and distinctive traditional music called joik.
Finland, Norway, and Sweden re Sámi Parliaments as representative bodies for the Sámi people. The three national parliaments often work together on issues which affect the whole Sápmi region, although their political influence is typically fairly small. The Sámi still face discrimination, and like many indigenous people, in many regions they are fighting for land rights and to protect their native land from destructive corporate logging and oil drilling.